6 prisons combine staff to compete in police & fire athletics

CDCR, county probation team takes gold in women’s basketball

Correctional Officer Grace Campbell was on a gold-medal winning basketball team during the recent Police and Fire Olympics in San Diego.

In early June, Correctional Officer Grace Campbell participated in the 2015 US Police and Fire Olympics in San Diego.

Officer Campbell, along with women from California Institution for Women and the San Bernardino Probation Department, played on the gold-medal winning women’s five-on-five basketball team.

The 49th Annual US Police and Fire Olympics were held in San Diego from May 30 through June 6 at venues throughout the county.

Athletes from police, fire, corrections, and border protection agencies from all 50 states competed.

Officer Campbell has played basketball since she was 12 years old. She played at a Division 1 University and in Germany for a few years. She is currently on her fourth year as head coach of a high school girls’ varsity basketball team.

“It’s a privilege to play basketball and represent the Department and California Correctional Peace Officers Association who help fund our team jerseys in the United States Police and Fire Games,” she said. “On behalf of me and the San Bernardino Probation Department, we would like to say thank you for all the help and support from our co-workers. Lastly, thank you to the staff that swapped shifts with me that allowed me to play in the event.”

CDCR team wins bronze in softball in Police and Fire Championships

By CDCR Staff

The City of San Diego recently hosted the United States Police and Fire Championships.

The Championships first began in 1967 by Veon “Duke” Nyhus promoting physical fitness and camaraderie among the members of the law enforcement community, which later incorporated the firefighting community as well.

Staff from four prisons joined forces to front a softball team. A U.S. Border Patrol agent was also a member of the team.

This year, in celebrating its 49th year of existence, the championship comprised 33 events ranging from Archery, Tennis, Triathlon and Softball to Water Polo with approximately 3,000 participating athletes, all held within 35 venues throughout San Diego County. The event ran from May 30 through June 6.

On May 30-31, a combination team of staff from five prisons, dubbed the “Rebels,” participated in the Men’s Softball 18-and-over Open Division. With 16 teams from across the nation competing, the Rebels managed to be the only CDCR team in this division making it to the medal round and receiving a Bronze Medal. The CDCR team also featured a member of the U.S. Border Patrol.

The combination team consisted of the following staff:

Mike Rodriguez, Avenal State Prison

Sal Flores, Avenal State Prison

Mike Betancourt, Substance Abuse Treatment Facility

Steve Sanchez, Substance Abuse Treatment Facility

Lupe Rodriguez, Valley State Prison

Armando Delos Santos, Valley State Prison

Ryan Coulter, Valley State Prison

Wesley Bourba, Valley State Prison

Steve Rodriguez, Valley State Prison

Alex Alva, Central California Women’s Facility

Michael Alonzo, Central California Women’s Facility

John Guerrero, United States Border Patrol

(Editor’s note: Some websites may not be accessible from a CDCR computer.)

For more information on the United States Police and Fire Championships, it may be found at https://www.uspfc.org/.

4 Comments

Steven.Comer
on Monday, July 6, 2015 at 10:06 am

Teamwork makes the dream work! I concur with Ms. Viale. Re-establishing the CDCR Olympics would bring the sprit of camaraderie and establish tradition within the Department. Congratulations to CRC Officer Campbell and her teammates. She has established herself as a role model in the community and hopefully one day she will become a future leader within the Department. Keep up the good work.

Along with these athletes, Officer Hurst from Wasco State Prison also participated in these events. I want to congratulate all of the athletes from CDCR. It’s nice to see CDCR involved in the competition. Officer Hurst along with just one other officer from Corcoran State Prison also competed in the Olympic games in 2014. I hope that for the futrue games more of CDCR comes out to represent. Congrats to all of the athletes. Way to go

Awesome story! How nice to see AW M. Alonzo and Officer A. Alva representing for the Central California Women’s Facility. Good job also to the our sister institution’s (VSP) four-member participation. Play ball, guys. They brought the medals home for CDCR. Way to represent! Winners. Good Job also to Officer Campbell and the women bringing the medals for the women’s basketball. How awesome to stay fit to compete on this level. Keep up the great work!

It would be nice if CDCR would re-institute the CDCR Olympics. I participated in these games many years ago and it was nice to meet many of the brothers and sisters throughout the state who work the toughest beat in the state for a great time competing in the games. These games not only brought camaraderie to the department and to one another, it was also a morale booster.